Edit the HKEY_CURRENT_USER Windows Registry keys of another user

The user-specific settings in the Windows registry are stored under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER key. If you open the Regedit.exe application the HKEY_CURRENT_USER key contains the settings for your user account.

To access the registry keys of another user we need to

Find the Security ID of the user

  1. In Regedit navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\hivelist
  2. The key lists the Security IDs and usernames
  3. Save the Security ID of the user.

Another Security ID list location:

The partial list of the Security IDs is also available at
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

Not all user profiles are listed here.

Click the Security ID folders on the left to see the username in the ProfileImagePath.

Open the user-specific registry keys

  1. In Regedit navigate to the HKEY_USERS key
  2. Select the Security ID of the user you are looking for
  3. The user-specific values are under that key

 

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